What is the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil?

The smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is around 190-210°C (375-410°F). It depends on the oil's acidity, not on its quality: the lower the acidity, the higher the smoke point. It is higher than most people assume, and higher than many seed oils.

What is a smoke point

The smoke point is the temperature at which a fat starts to burn and give off visible smoke. Past that point, the oil breaks down, changes flavour, and forms compounds you do not want in your food.

It is not one fixed number for every extra virgin olive oil. It varies from bottle to bottle, because it depends on the oil's chemical composition, not on the brand or the price.

What determines the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil

The main factor is the oil's free acidity: the lower it is, the higher the smoke point. An extra virgin olive oil with acidity below 0.8%, the legal limit for this category, holds up better under heat than an oil with higher acidity.

Other factors matter too: leftover impurities from processing, the level of natural antioxidants, and how well the oil has been stored. A fresh, well-kept oil has a more stable smoke point than one that has oxidised through exposure to air or light.

Why extra virgin olive oil handles heat better than most people think

It is often assumed that extra virgin olive oil is only for raw use, and that cooking requires seed oils. That is not accurate: its smoke point, around 190-210°C, is higher than unrefined oils such as cold-pressed sunflower oil, and close to or above many refined seed oils.

Typical home frying temperature sits around 170-180°C: that stays safely below the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil.

What this means when you actually cook

The smoke point is a ceiling, not a target. Keeping your cooking temperature below it, and making sure the oil never visibly smokes in the pan, is the simplest and most effective precaution.

A young extra virgin olive oil, well stored in a dark bottle or a tin, away from light and heat, keeps its original characteristics, and its smoke point, for longer.

Frequently asked questions

Is the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil higher or lower than seed oils?

It depends on the seed oil: extra virgin olive oil, at around 190-210°C, is generally higher than an unrefined seed oil, such as cold-pressed sunflower oil. It is similar to, or slightly lower than, refined seed oils, which are processed specifically for high-heat cooking.

Does a higher-quality extra virgin olive oil have a higher smoke point?

Not for the reason people often assume: the smoke point depends on acidity and storage, not on quality as a general label. An oil with low acidity, stored well, does however tend to have a higher and more stable smoke point over time.

Can you fry with extra virgin olive oil?

Yes, because its smoke point is higher than typical home frying temperatures, around 170-180°C. The smoke point alone does not settle whether it is the right choice for frying: we cover that question in a separate guide on our journal.

What happens if you exceed the smoke point of olive oil?

The oil starts to burn, produces visible smoke, and develops bitter, burnt flavours that carry through into the food. As the temperature rises further, it also forms compounds best avoided, which is why it helps to keep a margin below the smoke point.

Our oil, from tree to bottle

Two 100% Italian extra virgin olive oils from Tuscany, from a single hand-picked harvest, milled the same day three minutes from the grove. Luce is green, bitter and peppery; Raccolto is round, for every day. We ship across Italy, Europe and worldwide.